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Can cholesterol meds, antidepressants, or high blood pressure meds cause light menstruation postmenopausally? I stopped having periods when I was 50 years old — I am now 68 — but I am on numerous meds and am now having a light period.

— Wanda, Alaska

There are not many medications that can cause postmenopausal bleeding, and you can't make the assumption that it's the meds that are responsible. While bleeding can be a side effect of taking new medications that affect hormone levels, it's not likely. Also, the drugs that you're taking are not usually linked to vaginal bleeding.

Once you've gone through menopause, unless you're on hormone therapy (especially cyclical hormone therapy), any menstrual bleeding is of concern and needs to be evaluated. You're 18 years past menopause and are having postmenopausal bleeding, so you must see a doctor. I don't mean to scare you, but this bleeding might be a sign of an overgrowth of the tissue lining the uterus (endometrial hyperplasia), a uterine fibroid or polyp, or even endometrial cancer. Your doctor may do a biopsy and perform a D&C, a procedure to remove the endometrium from inside the uterus, depending on what he or she finds. The first step is to see your doctor, though, for an examination to determine what's going on.

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